ccoyle

And you have my respect for that! I only joined FB in order to stay in touch with my adult children, who have since migrated to other social media platforms.

A worthy subject!

Interesting subject, but there is some confusion on the scale. 1/4" to the foot is actually 1/48th scale. 1/25th scale is closer to 1/2" to the foot (1/24th). Judging from the size of your construction, I'm guessing the latter scale is the correct one.

Great to have you as a sponsor, Chris! It's been fun watching your growth as a designer going all the way back to JoTiKa. More good stuff to come, I'm sure. Hope you start off by selling a bunch of Alert kits!

Not sure why two five-year-old comments are being reposted at this particular point in this build log?

Personally, I think it takes a measure of real skill to build a plastic model and have it be indistinguishable from wood. You did very well!

That's their Bluenose II kit.

One oar down, fifteen to go. Ugh.

If your luthier's tools can be broadly used for other small scale wood projects, you might think about scratch building. Have a look through the scratch build logs and galleries to get a feel for some of the beautiful smallcraft models some of our members have either finished or have in progress. The NRG also offers a "Progressive Scratch Building" course, which is a series of three scratch built models beginning with a Bermuda boat, the Corsair, which is a fine looking project. You can find more info here. Cheers!

Richard, The exact range isn't specified, but the examples in the book range from 1/24 to 1/96. Now, 1/48 to 1/96 scale is not considered "large scale" for stick-and-string, but for modern warships the more usual scales are 1/200 or smaller. The hull of HMS CHARYBDIS (F75), pictured on the cover, is 62" long in 1/72 scale (over 5 feet), so yeah it's pretty large.

LARGE SCALE WARSHIP MODELS: from Kits to Scratch Building by Kerry Jang Seaforth Publishing, 2019 19.5 x 25.3 cm format 110 pages color illustrations Suggested retail: GBP 25.00 Verdict: Great tips -- and not just for large scale models! I have known of Kerry Jang for many years and knew that he is a modeler of no mean skills, so I was eager to have a look at his new book, Large Scale Warship Models. Happily, it turns out that Kerry is not only a great modeler but has some pretty good writing chops, too. So in addition to the copious amounts of eye candy present in its pages, Large Scale Warship Models is also a pleasure to read. Kerry's writing style is clear and touched with occasional dashes of humor. I especially appreciated his comment about the "sweet talking, gifts and treats along with the occasional pout" needed to get one his enormous models accepted as home decor. I actually find the title of the book slightly misleading. It is indeed about large scale warship models, but of course many large scale kits exist for non-warships as well, and Kerry's methods are equally valid for both kinds of models. Many of the techniques that Kerry describes would also be just as useful for small scale models as for large ones, things such as scratch building with styrene or airbrushing techniques. The title also doesn't say anything about RC, but there is an entire chapter on selecting and installing RC gear. So there is really a little something for everyone in Large Scale Warship Models. Kerry leaves no stone unturned on his subject. After an introduction on the subject of large scale models, including pros and cons of building in large scale, the rest of the book includes chapters on kit reviews, tools, construction, fittings, painting, and a chapter on "Final Assembly and Finishing Touches" that covers rigging, decals, and displays. Naturally, since the book is about building large scale models, the lion's share of page space is devoted to that aspect of the topic. Individual construction chapters are devoted to the hull and running gear, underdecks and decks, the aforementioned installation of RC gear, superstructures and deck houses, and lastly fittings and other details The inclusion of 187 photos in the main body of text makes Kerry's descriptions easy to grasp, and the book also includes a gallery featuring several of Kerry's exceptional models. A short list of relevant suppliers and publications wraps things up. As stated previously, I think that builders in any scale would find much useful material in Large Scale Warship Models. I simply don't have enough space in my small house to display anything like one of Kerry's models, but I did find myself repeatedly thinking as I read, "Hmm -- that's a good idea. I'll have to remember that one!" I think that interested readers who decide to purchase this book will find themselves frequently thinking the same thing, even if their models are only of the small scale variety. CDC

Hello, Nicholas. As you can see, there is an entire section in the forum dedicated to masting and rigging (I moved your question here). Now, as to your question, I think there are any number of scratch-built logs that do include masting, though it is not uncommon for scratch builders to make "hull models", which, as the name implies, do not include masts and rigging. There are also some good books on the subject, though I will let those who are more knowledgeable on the subject suggest some titles for you. Cheers!

Well, regarding plans and instructions, the good news is that this kit is popular and well-represented by build logs, which should be of good use to you. It appears that Panart have taken some pains to modernize the kit. The laser cutting and engraving looks pretty good. Looks like the castings could still use some work, though. Best of luck on your project!

Ah -- that's the part I missed. I went back and read it.

As far as I know it's the same stuff. Difference in carving results might be based on differences in grain structure between billets going into production. I'm not much of a carver myself, but based on what I've read, if you're interested in getting better results, you might be better off replacing your basswood with pear or boxwood.

Pardon me if this particular topic got discussed earlier, but it's kind of interesting to speculate about how effective GZ would have been in actual combat. The Americans and British had practiced carrier operations and tactics for many years before the start of the war, and even so they went through teething troubles after the shooting started. Even if the DKM had enough escort vessels to provide an effective screening force (they didn't), I doubt that GZ would have posed much of a threat, just as Bismarck and Tirpitz ultimately posed little strategic threat.

Nice models! There is no one way to do a build log -- think of it as show and tell at a club meeting. Show what your working on and talk about it -- easy peasy!

Splitting this off again. Please post replies here!

Some progress with itty-bitty metal bits. First, oarlocks and eyebolts. Then an anchor (one more of these to go). On the right is an unfinished anchor showing the PE flukes and the tiny prongs upon which they are supposed to be seated. I found this method hugely aggravating to accomplish, what with my tweezers tips slipping and flinging three of the 2 mm wide flukes off into uncharted regions. So instead I sanded off the little prongs with my Dremel tool and a sanding disk, then made replacement flukes from card stock. The resulting anchor is on the left. Since the tiny anchor is black, and the cap rail to which it will be lashed is also black, any irregularities among the flukes will be imperceptible on the finished model.

Hi, Cono. I split your first post off as a separate topic in the New Member Introductions area. It's still there.

RAIDERS FROM THE SEA John Lodwick Greenhill Books paperback, 240 pages 23.3 x 15.5 cm format 35 black & white illustrations Suggested retail: GBP 14.99 Verdict: A page-turner, but with a caveat. "Half a mile offshore the officer made a prearranged signal with a torch. He sighted the submarine on his starboard bow. The two men boarded her from the gun-platform. The canoe was passed inboard and dismantled. The submarine got underway. Some ham sandwiches remained in the ward-room. The canoeists had eaten five or six of these when the officer was called for from the bridge. He mounted the steel ladder in time to see a train entering the far end of the tunnel. Fifty seconds later a large flash was visible. This flash was followed by an explosion." So ended a successful mission carried out by men of the Special Boat Service on the night of 22 June 1941. I suspect that far more people are aware of the exploits of the SAS in North Africa than of those of their naval counterparts in the SBS. But the ranks of the SBS were filled with the same sort of daring individuals, willing to carry out feats of sabotage on the fringes of the Axis empire along the Mediterranean coastline. Raiders from the Sea chronicles their activities. Originally published in 1947, Raiders reads much like a spy novel, which is not surprising considering that its author, John Lodwick, was a successful novelist after the war. Lodwick served in the SBS and thus had first-hand knowledge of its operations and the often colorful characters that carried them out. In Raiders he has created a rather engrossing narrative, although here and there it is sometimes difficult to figure out what is meant exactly by the period language, sprinkled as it is with naval terms and British colloquialisms. Nevertheless, I think that fans of naval history, especially those that are interested in commando-style raids and littoral operations, will find this book quite interesting. There is one feature of this book that I find just a little disappointing, namely that there is no documentation at all -- not one citation or end note. The diligent work of historians has repeatedly shown us that first-hand accounts of wartime experiences often do not square exactly with the immense amount of military records that must be gathered, catalogued, organized, and at some point released to the public, often many years after the cessation of hostilities. Good end notes and a works cited section suggest to me a historian who has done his homework. In Lodwick's case we can only guess at home much of his material is derived from sources other than his own recollections. Thus there is a bit of a shadow that hangs over Lodwick's narrative. It's a great story, but the reader can never rest assured that his descriptions are correct in certain details, such as his assertions of the number of enemy combatants killed or the amount of materiel destroyed, such as the "... eight planes, six trucks, four bomb dumps, seven petrol and two oil dumps" supposedly bagged by a raid on the airfield at Kastelli on Crete. That's a pretty significant haul for a small-scale raid. Do any German sources verify the destruction? The reader isn't told. But Lodwick's account of this particular operation can be compared with one found at Wikipedia based on a Greek source, and the reader will note that their are discrepancies in both the descriptions of the personnel involved and of the damage inflicted. My suggestion is to take Lodwick's quantitative statements with a grain of salt and don't allow them to distract too much from the story. CDC

Hmmm. You could square up the painted portions, give them a shot of matte acrylic spray to knock off any sheen, and then consider them to be patches applied to battle damage. 😉

Yes, please start a new log for your model! Not only would our members like to see more of what you are building, but posting progress photos in someone else's log, sometimes referred to as "thread hijacking", is generally frowned upon. Thanks!

Hello! I noticed that you have been starting a new topic for each update. I have merged them together for you into this thread. Pleas add additional updates here by using the reply option at the bottom of the thread. Thanks!

Love the Shay! Much of Northern California where I did fisheries work had been railroad logged back in the day. There were still trestles and track beds in many places. Some of the logging roads followed the old rail lines, and, in a few instances, crossed streams on the original railway bridges.